Pandora Gets Much Needed Overhaul

With iTunes, Google Music, Spotify, YouTube, Grooveshark, Slacker Radio, Turntable.fm, Hype Machine, AllMusic, and countless MP3 blogs, discovering and accessing music has never been easier or more ubiquitous.

While there are seemingly unlimited choices in the ways to stream music, Pandora continues to be one of the more popular options. However, the site had long been hindered by an outdated interface and design, resulting in a less-than-optimal experience.

Thankfully, Pandora has given its site an overhaul and has implemented HTML5 for a far greater user experience.

"In late 2010 we started with a clean sheet of paper, challenging ourselves to create a new internet radio experience that was fast, social, and easy while still being familiar to the tens of millions of people that listen to Pandora each month," Conrad writes. "The result is 'New Pandora' -- the same personalized radio experience you've enjoyed for years, wrapped in a new HTML5 look that makes it more responsive, easier to use, and better integrated with the friends and music lovers in your life."

Aside from a cleaner look, Pandora has added features like simplified station creation, enhanced listener profiles, a new station shuffler, and extended artist information. But most importantly, non-premium users no longer have that monthly 40-hour listening cap, allowing everyone to listen for as long as they like for free.

The way music sites and services have progressed, here's hoping video services like Hulu and Netflix get their acts together soon.